GARDEN PLANS II 



Plants Requiring Special Care. — There are other 

 plants, however, which will do little if they are not 

 nursed along and tended frequently. Such plants as 

 lettuce, celery, beets, radishes, and cauliflower need 

 the finest earth, and water at all times, to keep their 

 growth up to the best. Where it is possible to have 

 a hose that will reach every part of the entire gar- 

 den, the problem is easily solved. Very few gardens, 

 however, can boast the luxury of a hose. It is best, 

 then, to select a special plot of ground large enough 

 for these plants, and to call that the kitchen garden. 



Root Habits and Water. — If we could watch a 

 root as it works its way through the soil, we should 

 see it turn towards the nearest supply of water. In 

 digging out old wells, roots of trees have frequently 

 been found, which have come more than a hundred 

 feet to feed in the moist earth near the well. The 

 tiny roots of the garden plants do the same thing 

 on a smaller scale. They go toward the nearest 

 water, wherever that may be. Their natural tend- 

 ency is to go down into the earth, to seek water 

 in the moist soil below them. 



Result of Frequent Watering from Above. — Ap- 

 plications of water from a watering pot seldom 

 moisten more than the top of the ground. When 

 the rows are watered in the evening in this way, 

 the roots detect the moist earth above them and 

 turn in that direction. The next day, when the 

 hot sun falls on the plants, the roots are near the 



